The Art of the Plate: August 2018

Friday, August 17, 2018

Thank you to the team from Trident Technical College and The Culinary Institute of Charleston for joining us for lunch!

This month, we invite you to join us for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and brunch as we celebrate Chef Shane Whiddon's passion for the culinary industry and giving back to others. Proceeds from Virginia's on King will be donated to the Chef Shane Memorial Scholarship Fund. The scholarship will be awarded annually to a student pursuing culinary studies at Trident.

Pictured from left: J. Michael Saboe, Dean of TTC's Culinary Institute of Charleston; Michael Carmel, Culinary Arts Department Head; Nathan Rex, Hospitality and Tourism Department Head; Elliott DeMerell, Donor Engagement

https://www.holycityhospitality.com/virginias-on-king/2018/07/25/establishing-chef-shane-memorial-scholarship/

The Charleston Parks Conservancy gave Chef Vagasky props for his “wonderful garden to table cooking” at their Hampton Park Preview and Ice Cream Social Tuesday night. Thanks, Chef, for representing!

Monday, August 6, 2018

CIC faculty and staff planning for a successful 2018-2019 academic year. Thank you to our industry partners at Embassy Suites.

What We're Reading

“Eating from the Ground Up”

Out just in time for the vegetables appearing at our farmers markets, Alana Chernila’s cookbook focuses on creatively using every root and leaf. While some of the recipes may be familiar concepts – think stuffed tomatoes – hers are packed with millet, basil, and parsley. Fried rice stars salmon, fennel, and Swiss chard stems. Roasted asparagus are sauced with a combo of butter, garlic, nutritional yeast, and tamari. Stone fruit, raw corn kernels, scallions, basil, and jalapeño make a cool salad for hot weather. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC.

"Soul: A Chef's Culinary Evolution in 150 Recipes"

“This book is my homage to the cuisine of my family,” Chef Todd Richards writes in his autobiographical collection of essays and recipes. “These are the ingredients of my people. This is my sermon about my Soul food.”

Bringing accolades for his stints at Atlanta’s Ritz Carlton and Four Seasons, James Beard nominations, and, of course, his prowess at Southern cooking, Richards seasons the pot with a powerful bouquet of flavors as he pays his heritage forward. Collards cooked with ham hocks are accented with piquant pickled collard stems. Blueberries are found in fried pies; strawberries are plated with champagne aspic, whipped cream, and honey. Grilled peaches pair with radishes on toast spread with pimiento cheese. Sweet potatoes are layered with cauliflower and crab in a lush gratin.

"Soul food," Richards tells us, "is the original cuisine of the South, born from an involuntary collision of cultures."
Published by Southern Living. $35.